Casualties of War
by Anom
Summary: After being left behind in the North Crater, Tseng and Elena find themselves at the mercy of Kadaj. He wants his mother back and will do whatever it takes to make them talk, but breaking a Turk, he and his brothers soon discover, is harder than it seems
1. Chapter 1

Ok, so I love Tseng. I'll admit it, I was more sad when he died than when Aeris died. And then he was ok in Advent Children, which absolutely rocked my boxers hardcore. So I decided to expand upon his and Elena's miniscule parts and write a bit about what might have happened between the North Crater ambush and their reappearance in Midgar. Forgive me if something doesn't line up with the movie, but in all honesty, I don't thin anyone knows what quite was happening, plot wise. But damn it was pretty.

-------

"_Tseng! Look at this!"_

_Rude pushed a thin layer of rocks aside as Tseng and Elena came up to see. Elena hung back, scanning the barren slopes. Tseng's lip curled as he beheld the object of their search,_

_"...disgusting, isn't it?"_

_Rude remarked. Tseng handed him the containment box, looking over his shoulder. Something had him on edge about this mission,_

_"Just hurry up."_

_Rude nodded, gingerly placing the rotted lump of flesh into the box and sealing it. Tseng contacted Reno over the radio, naming their coordinates. Rude didn't catch the reply, but it sounded mouthy._

_Elena glanced upward, looking for the helicopter she could hear descending. It was just by chance she saw the black clad figure, and a split second later notice where he was aiming._

_"Sir, watch out!"_

_She had launched herself sideways into Tseng just as the clap of gunfire echoed in the crater, and he'd turned in time to see the spray of blood erupting from her chest._

_"Elena!"_

_Elena had taken a bullet for him._

--------

"Wake up."

The voice, mocking in its pleasant tone, rang in Tseng's ears. If he was waking up, Tseng reasoned with himself, then they hadn't killed him. Which meant they had some reason to keep him alive, which meant he had a whole new set of problems to deal with. He flexed his hands, feeling thin wire of some kind wound around his wrists and most of his forearms, too strong to be broken, and tight enough that even the small movement made it dig into his skin painfully. His legs were bound as well, but not as tightly, it felt more like a short length of the same wire ran between his ankles. Enough to keep him from kicking or running.

He was sitting in the snow, his back against cold rocks, so there was a good chance they were still in the North Crater. His coat had been taken, and several jagged edges of stone where cutting into his back. The discomfort was easily ignored, however, in light of more severe wounds. Like the bullets in his leg.

The voice continued, less pleasant this time.

"I know you're awake, I heard your breathing change."

The Turk slowly opened his eyes, and ended up looking right into Kadaj's. An involuntary chill ran through him at the sight of those green eyes, eyes he had seen once before. A faint, ghost like pain crept over the scar in his chest, the wound that should have killed him two years ago, delivered by one with those same eyes. Behind Kadaj stood his 'brothers', Loz and Yazoo. Neither seemed particularly interested in their prisoner, preferring instead to lounge on the scattered rocks in the bloodstained snow.

Elena, Tseng thought. With something akin to panic, he turned his head quickly, trying to find her. A flash of blue showed the inert form, her back to him where she lay on her side in the snow, also bound and immobilized. If they'd bothered tying her up then she was alive, or had been not long ago. Somehow, the thought didn't make him breath any easier.

"She's alive." Kadaj remarked, drawing attention back to him. "But you should be worrying about yourself."

Tseng, already, had fallen back on training he'd received years ago and resolved not to say anything, no matter how trivial. His own silence was the only thing he had control of at the moment, he wouldn't give it up. Kadaj knelt, putting them face to face, and chewed his lip as if deep in thought. After a moment, he began in conversational tones, tilting his head in what some might have thought in endearing fashion,

"So tell me, Turk, what are Rufus's favorite lackeys doing in here, of all places? Surely an 'elite squad' would be better placed in Midgar, or somewhere they could actually be of use."

Tseng did not look away, but said nothing. Kadaj waited, but not very long, as he was by nature impatient. The question hadn't really been something he wanted answered anyway, he had already guessed at their mission, so he continued the one sided conversation,

"Unless..." He acted as though the thought had just dawned on him, though the carefully executed ambush earlier had proven otherwise, "Rufus is meddling? Trying to find Mother before we can?"

He put on an expression of untold shock, like Rufus's interference had hurt him deeply. Seeing the interesting part beginning, Loz and Yazoo perked up, more interested now. The shock vanished from Kadaj's face, as did all pretenses of pleasantry. He leaned in closely to Tseng, speaking slowly and earnestly,

"Where is Mother?"

Tseng narrowed his eyes slightly, leveling a cold stare at Kadaj that clearly told him what he could do with his questions. Startlingly swift, Kadaj backhanded him across the face and stood, stepping quickly back and forth. The blow reminded Tseng of how strong these apparent children were. Stronger than Rude, stronger than the Mako enhanced Soldiers, stronger than any human had a right to be. Kadaj slowed his sudden pacing, returning his full attention to Tseng,

"Where is he hiding Mother?"

He sounded agitated now, like he was unsure of how to proceed. Tseng was fairly certain the boy had no real experience in interrogation, and his silence was something the Sephiroth clone wasn't sure how to break. Kadaj might not have had any formal training, but he did know it was a simple fact that every person, if caused enough of the right kind of pain, would talk. He just had to find where to hurt, and how much. Time, however, was not a luxury he had at the moment, especially if Rufus had men looking for Jenova. He needed answers fast, so he picked a basic form of persuasion.

"Loz."

His brother looked up from where he was leaning against a cave wall, his eyebrows raised in anticipation of the orders to follow. Walking away, Kadaj waved in Tseng's direction, saying nothing and not needing to.

Before Tseng even had time to prepare himself for the assault Loz was upon him, impossibly fast. He had fought Loz during the ambush, the martial artist had appeared out of nowhere and crushed Tseng's gun with a single punch and forced them into close quarters combat. Now, unable to block or move with the attacks, he was subjected to the full force of the ruthless clone. And while Kadaj was certainly the most cunning of the three, and had earned the right to lead them, Loz was without a doubt the strongest. Tseng could, and had, taken beatings that would have killed most people. But under Loz's assault it was all he could do to keep from crying out. One punch and Tseng felt part of his ribcage cave in, a followup jab driving the shattered bones into the surrounding flesh. Loz snickered, slamming his foot into Tseng's face and gleefully watching the spew of blood he was rewarded with. He flexed his hands and continued expertly, drawing out the beating without mortally injuring or knocking out his victim. Even with all his control, Tseng couldn't hold back a few cries of pain, sounds he hated himself for allowing out. Loz stepped back, admiring his handiwork. Wiping a stray trace of blood from his face, he nodded to Kadaj,

"Hey, bro, this ones tough."

"We'll see." Yazoo murmured in that infuriatingly arrogant manner of his while toying with his guns. Kadaj stepped back into Tseng's view and looked him over approvingly. Loz was certainly good at what he did, he knew there was a reason they tolerated the cry baby. He knelt, craning his head to look at Tseng's face.

"Where have you hidden Mother?"

Kadaj repeated the question and waited, giving Tseng time to collect himself before he answered. Tseng, bringing his labored breathing under control, looked up at Kadaj, challenging, daring him to do his worst. Kadaj waited, hoping the Turk would reconsider. Icy wind howled through the crater, making Loz and Yazoo hold their coats tighter, but Kadaj and Tseng stayed still, holding each others glares in an impromptu contest of wills. When it became apparent that he was refusing to answer again, Kadaj's features tightened, betraying his frustration. He'd expected this to be easier. He jumped to his feet, and with a swish of his long coat turned away, snapping testily,

"Loz!"

Tseng didn't even wince as Loz cracked his knuckles, a sick grin on his face.

--------

Mrow, first chapter. I've belted out the next few already, in a very rough draft. But I'm very Advent Children obsessed right now so as long as I don't take a break from this I'll finish it.

I do warn, though, that there will be some blatantly shippy Tseng/Elena-ness as this goes on. Because they're cute, and now they have some bonding time.


	2. Chapter 2

Ok, a few authors comments herein.

First, Tseng is already being wicked protective of Elena, but I didn't mean that as the shippiness, I think he's protective of all his Turks, Elena's just the one who got shot this time. And he's already being angsty and blaming himself for the mission going to hell, so he feels like its completely his fault this happened. Because you know he'd be like that, if only a little bit.

Second, on Tseng swearing, I really don't see him swearing a lot in general, he's better than that. But in the field, when orders aren't followed immediately and such, I see him being very short tempered. And apparently when he does swear he has a tendency to go right for the F-Bomb...go figure.

Third...actually the rest are at the end.

And the flashbacks are kept to brief descriptions because I like it that way. And Tseng is remembering this while being wailed on by Loz, so I don't think he's focusing on all the pretty details.

---------

_Before Elena had even hit the snow, Tseng had his gun drawn and trained on the figure above them. As he pulled the trigger, something moved, impossibly fast, striking the weapon to the ground in a crumbled heap of useless metal. He saw the assailant, a ghost of a man, catapult Rude to the other side of the snow field before materializing._

_Rude leapt to his feet, clinging to the containment box. The third of the black clad figures suddenly jumped down in front of him, brandishing a sword. Above them, the one who had sniped Elena started his way down the slopes, leaping from outcropping to outcropping like an animal of some kind._

_Loz charged Tseng, who knew enough not to block directly, but redirected the blow expertly and landing a heavy hit to the base of Loz's skull. He whirled around in a rage and renewed the attack._

_Dodging sword slashes, Rude kept looking for an opening to disarm his opponent. None was appearing._

_Tseng brought his arms up to block a swift punch, and suddenly felt a sharp pain in his leg as another clap of gunfire sounded. The sniper was taking pot shots at them. _

_Another sound, whirring helicopter blades, overwhelmed the gunfire as Reno brought the chopper in low. His voice crackled over the radio, urgent._

_"Get the hell out of there!"_

_He looked out the window, taking in the fight. Tseng, though smaller than his opponent, was holding out through superior skill and experience, but even at his distance Reno could see the brute strength of his opponent wearing him down. Rude was still dodging frantically, still holding tightly to the containment box._

_He heard gunfire, and saw Tseng roll just in time to dodge. Loz was waiting when he came up, kicking hard into his side. Reno drew his own gun, aiming as best he could from the helicopter at the sniper. The bullets flew close, but didn't hit their mark._

_Yazoo leapt impossibly high, jumping out of Reno's sight, and sent a hail of bullets down on the copter. Reno swore and shouted again into the radio, urging the team to retreat._

_Tseng, dancing just out of Loz's reach, glanced up at the helicopter. Rude may have been near it, but all three silver haired men stood between Tseng and his way out. Yazoo jumped again, shooting wildly, he hadn't hit any vital piece of the machine yet, but Tseng knew he couldn't work his way out before he did._

_Rude had the piece of Jenova, he reminded himself, ducking a flying kick but getting elbowed in the back as Loz twisted inhumanly during his flight. They had to get that box out. He assessed the situation as logically as he could manage while trying to block another series of punches and kicks, and a cold pit formed in his stomach as he came to the conclusion his job demanded; Only Rude would be getting out._

_Rude ducked a slash and dropped to the ground, knocking Kadaj's feet out from under him with a sweeping kick. The swordsman lithely leapt backwards somehow, landing away from Rude._

_His leg throbbed. He couldn't get himself, much less Elena, out._

_Rude risked a glance to his leader. Tseng scream over the roar of the helicopter,_

_"Go Rude!"_

_Loz suddenly seemed to realize that Rude must be the important one, and turned to go after him. Tseng tackled him from behind, ignoring the fact that this put them into a fight of sheer strength as they grappled._

_Rude hesitated. Kadaj began to close in. Rude took one look at the chopper, his wounded comrades, Kadaj, and braced himself to fight._

_Loz slammed Tseng into a pile of stone, and the Turk barely jerked his head out of the way in time to avoid an electrified punch that would have crushed his face._

_"That's a fucking order, Rude! Go!"_

_A bullet from Reno whizzed past Kadaj, startling him, and he hesitated. Rude bolted, and Kadaj started after him. Reno had started the helicopter climbing before Rude had even got there, and the Turk had to jump to haul himself up into the back. Kadaj crouched low to the ground and jumped, intending to slice the machine in two._

_A bullet caught him in the shoulder. Rude was leaning out the side door, firing down at them. Kadaj twisted midair and dropped, landing effortlessly._

_Loz threw Tseng across the field, he bounced, and came up on his feet, bleeding and tired but ready to continue. He looked up at the retreating helicopter, seeing a flash of red as Reno craned his neck to catch a last glimpse of his comrades._

_And then it was gone, leaving only a dying breeze in the now silent crater._

_The three men turned slowly, murder in their eyes. Tseng braced, knowing he had no chance of beating all three at once._

_But Elena was still laying in the snow behind him, and he'd be damned if they'd get her before him._

_With a smirk, Kadaj charged and Loz disappeared once more._

_He managed to dodge the sword, but Loz was too fast for him to even see. He didn't have a chance._

_-----------_

"This isn't working."

Yazoo monotoned as Loz casually tossed Tseng to the ground again, almost looking bored with his new punching bag. Kadaj paced in the snow, beyond frustrated at the Turk's continued silence. Tseng hit the ground with a weak grunt, entertaining the thought that he might pass out soon. He'd quickly lost count of how many times they had repeated the question, silence and Loz cycle, but it looked like Kadaj might just have the patience to keep going for however long it took for Tseng to be killed. At this point, Tseng could barely see his eyes were so swollen, and he figured that if he had even wanted to talk he wouldn't have been able to make a coherent sentence. It was enough of a challenge to cough the blood out of his throat just so he could breath. And he didn't even want to think about how many of his bones were fractured or blatantly broken.

The three men moved about nearby, talking in quiet but heated tones amongst themselves, and his mind wandered to Elena. Elena, still unconscious or worse. He moved his head slightly, catching a glimpse of blond hair at the top of his vision, but no sign to confirm or deny her health. Her wounds obviously weren't as bad as they had first looked. When she had shoved him out of the way, taking two bullets to her chest on his behalf, Tseng had thought she was dead on the spot. When he'd realized she was still breathing, he had done everything he could to keep the silver haired men from killing her where she lay, but his efforts had failed to get them to the helicopter. Thinking she was alive now was in some ways a comfort, but in many more it worried him.

_Don't wake up_

He thought, looking at her inert form. He doubted she would last very long under this kind of brutality, they had never had the time to properly train her to withstand torture. It would be a mercy to let her bleed to death where she lay, and if her drenched jacket was any indication it looked like that was still a distinct possibility.

Nearby, he heard the talking become louder, harsher. Kadaj suddenly started yelling,

"It's _your_ fault he won't talk, Loz!" He spat the name, every bit the child throwing a tantrum, "I thought you were good at beating people up?"

Loz shouted back defensively,

"I'm doing my best! How many times can I hit him, huh?"

"I don't know, but apparently you haven't done it enough!"

Loz sounded spiteful as he snapped back,

"Well why don't you have a go then? See if you can do any better!"

Kadaj scoffed, and there was the sound of crunching snow as he stalked about for a few moments before throwing mercilessly,

"You're useless, Mother would be ashamed!"

Loz made an odd choking noise, as if on the verge of tears, and did not reply. Kadaj stalked past Tseng, making a disgusted noise at his brothers' incompetence. He paused momentarily to glare down at Tseng, then landed a hard kick in his ribs. Tseng spat blood on his boots, all the defiance he could really manage at this point. Kadaj ignored it and began pacing as far away from his brothers as he could without appearing stupid, in an almost tangible huff. Loz had sat down, sobbing quietly into his hands at the insults, and Yazoo had knelt to reassure him in indecipherable whispers. They really did act like a bunch of children, Tseng thought. Simple minded, petty, arguing amongst themselves, yet capable of great rage and gifted with inhuman power. He was ashamed that they had so effortlessly beaten his Turks.

They seemed completely caught up in their small drama, moping in silence and leaving Tseng forgotten in the snow. It was a much needed break.

---------

While Kadaj prowled though the snow, crunching it loudly beneath his boots, and Loz did not bother to quiet his sniffles, Yazoo seemed to glide over the snow in his silence. He was the first one to take a notice of their prisoner again, he approached and walked a slow circle around him, deep in thought. The most enigmatic of the brothers, Tseng knew practically nothing about him, which was a feat considering how little he knew about the trio to begin with. He did know, however, that his gut told him Yazoo was likely the most dangerous. The cold cunning in his eyes seemed to confirm that as he looked at Tseng like a hungry predator.

Yazoo stopped, a faint flutter of his coat the only sign of his presence. His voice cut through the frozen air, stopping Kadaj's pacing,

"Oy, brother!"

Kadaj turned a long suffering look on him, clearly saying he was just barely tolerating his siblings at the moment and Yazoo better have a good reason to interrupt his moping. Yazoo, a twisted semblance of a smile on his face, looked down at Tseng,

"Let me have a turn."

Kadaj seemed to think this was an absolutely marvelous idea, as he smirked and sauntered over to his brother. Glancing to the side, he motioned for Loz to rejoin them as well, all traces of his anger from before forgotten. Loz, seeing the change, wiped at his eyes hurriedly and eagerly rejoined his siblings. Kadaj welcomed him back with a friendly punch to the shoulder, getting a slight chuckle from the larger man. Just like that, they were again the perfect fighting trio, inseparable, loyal and protective.

"Loz," Kadaj ordered, "Hold him."

Loz lifted Tseng bodily, making him stand partially. He hooked one arm under Tseng's bound wrists, and twined his fingers into his hair, yanking his head back so he couldn't struggle. Tseng made an effort to kick backward, hoping if nothing else to be spiteful, but his legs were numb and unresponsive, choosing to ooze blood lazily instead. Yazoo drew two bladed guns as he readied himself, and Tseng felt a tinge of fear he couldn't quite ignore. He hated swords, he'd been unacceptably wary of them since the Temple of the Ancients, and the sadistic pleasure on Yazoo's face was far too reminiscent of Sephiroth for his liking.

Yazoo flipped his guns around almost lazily while he looked Tseng over, agonizingly patient where his brothers were not. Spinning the bladed guns, he rolled the possibilities of where to start around in his mind. After taking his time, he arrived at a decision and the blades stopped spinning. Yazoo held the thin blade ready, laying it lightly where Tseng's neck and shoulder connected.

"Hold him tight, brother." He flashed a wicked grin at Tseng, "This'll get messy."

----

Mind numbingly slow, Yazoo let the blade glide against Tseng's skin, as if testing. The razor sharp blade left a stinging line in its wake, and Tseng closed his eyes, trying to remove himself from the situation, trying not to see the delight and subtle contemplation on Yazoo's face that so closely mirrored he look on Sephiroth's face as he had sliced the Turk open two years before. Yazoo almost delicately applied the blade again, digging it harder into Tseng's arm, with a precise movement, he pulled back, hearing a faint swish as the blade moved. He held the blade up to Tseng's face, just barely touching below his ear, wondering if he should cut up or horizontally. He was already having an effect, he mused the himself. In the deathly silence, he was acutely aware of the change in his victims breathing, a bit quicker than it should have been. He was tensed in anticipation of the cut, more so than when threatened by Loz. And Yazoo hadn't even gotten started yet.

The blade had just began to cut again, Yazoo was planning on slicing half of Tseng's ear off, when a strangled cry of pain sounded nearby. Recognizing the voice, Tseng wanted to turn his head, but Yazoo's poised blade prevented that. Kadaj waved Yazoo down, considering how this turn of events changed things. Tseng looked in time to see Elena stirring. The movement pained her, for she cried out feebly again before laying still. Shivering, she flexed her hands, trying to figure out why they were so bound. Finding no answer, she instead concentrated on getting up.

Kadaj seemed to decide this was a good thing, and approached Elena eagerly. Tseng lurched forward, intent on doing something, but Loz tightened his grip, making an amused noise. Yazoo stepped away, sheathing his guns and looking positively depressed that his torture session had been cut short.

By then Elena had managed to roll onto her stomach, letting her move herself into a sitting position. Concentrating only on her own wounds, she hadn't yet noticed that she was not alone. That changed when Kadaj hauled her up by a fistful of hair and, oblivious to her scream, half carried half dragged her over to the rest of them. On the way, he proclaimed cheerily,

"You've woken up just in time! We've been waiting for you."

Elena, her eyes brimming with tears, wore an expression of complete bewilderment. Kadaj swung her in front of him, throwing her roughly into a kneeling position in front of Tseng. Her jaw went slack as she was the condition he was in, and the bewilderment gave way to panic tempered by a healthy amount of outright horror as she remembered what had happened before she had blacked out.

"Oh god, no..."

Tseng might have tried to reassure her, but it was difficult, looking like he did at the moment. Besides, he didn't feel like lying to her. Kadaj gave them a moment, letting Elena realize just how bad things were and letting the implications of her waking up sink for Tseng. With a look of pure triumph, Kadaj pulled Elena up a bit, emphasizing his newest threat,

"I've heard Turks don't care about anyone. But I'll bet you've got a soft spot for your own men, eh?"

Yazoo, catching on to the idea, approved whole heartedly of the method, and brought the blunt end of his gun down hard on the back of Elena's head. She kept her yell muted now that she had caught her bearings. She was a Turk, she reminded herself, it was her duty to face this like one. Besides, she couldn't break down, not in front of him, not after she'd spent so long proving herself. Kadaj continued, in a predictable but effective line of reasoning,

"If you won't talk, we can just work on her instead."

Elena interrupted before he had even finished, speaking so quickly it was almost difficult to understand,

"Don't tell them anything, I can take..."

Yazoo drove his knee up into her gut, silencing the outburst. Elena doubled over, hacking and coughing as she fought to bring air back into her lungs. Kadaj let her drop, looking expectantly at Tseng. Tseng looked down at Elena, doubled over in pain already. It was supposed to be his job to plan missions so this wouldn't happen. He'd known better, it was his fault for letting them get cut off. A Turk, without fail, died in the field. It was something they all knew, but he'd always sworn that none of his men would be killed on account of a judgement error on his part. Now, Elena was suffering for his mistake.

Duty was more important then any one of their lives, he knew, Elena knew. It was their job to ensure that these men never laid hands on Jenova, and if they died in the process, so be it. Elena would understand, she had when she accepted the suit.

Kadaj had carefully observed Tseng, watching the very subtle changes on his face, just enough to betray the conflicts. Seeing it, Kadaj was certain they had him. He couldn't imagine this method failing, who wouldn't sacrifice anything to keep a comrade safe?

"Where is Mother?"

There was a moment of hesitation, and Kadaj allowed himself the glee of victory. As such, he was appalled when Tseng shook his head slightly, making a point to look away from Elena. Kadaj waited a moment longer, not believing what he was seeing. Yet the silence continued, until it was painfully apparent that both Turks were still willing to fight. Kadaj looked to Elena, wondering if she would at least look hurt that her leader would not save her. She looked back at him, then away, unable to hold his gaze. But the brief look had been enough to tell him that, for the moment at least, she wasn't telling him anything.

"Fine." He said through a tight throat. He leaned over, addressing Elena, "Everything will stop when you tell me where Mother is, alright?"

He gently stroked her hair before backing off and facing his brother,

"Yazoo, whatever you where about to do to him, I want you to do worse to her. Understand?"

Yazoo nodded and reached for Elena, who threw herself sideways despite the futility of trying to avoid him. The three brothers snickered, and Yazoo seized the front of her jacket. He pulled her close for a second, letting her get a good look at his unsettling eyes, then shoved her to Kadaj. He held her firmly for Yazoo, glancing up,

"Loz, make sure he watches."

Loz tightened his grip on Tseng, shifting his weight,

"Sure thing, bro."

With the same leisurely manner as before, Yazoo drew one gun and observed Elena. He cocked his head to one side, deciding where to begin. When he started the careful, precise cuts, Elena didn't wince or make a sound. Unlike his brothers, Yazoo wasn't frustrated by this. His methods were a process, something that took a bit to build up. He worked like a master sculptor, placing each slash with a critical eye, each one an intricate part of a greater design, not like the crude work of Loz. This sort of work required a kind of finesse, like knowing the value of a slow, agonizing cut as well as the brief, stinging ones. As he worked, he saw Elena slowly losing her composure. First she started to tremble when the metal brushed her skin, unable to quell terror of anticipation, then the silent tears she didn't realize she was letting escape. After awhile, he had her crying out softly, then he continued with less finesse, moving onto more brutal cuts.

Tseng could have closed his eyes, he knew he should have. Elena was trying, she was doing better than he thought she would have. But even if she got through this, he couldn't be sure if she would manage next time. As he watched, the cold part of his mind commented that either Yazoo knew what he was doing, or he was just innately sadistic. Even if he had closed his eyes, he wouldn't have been able to block out the shrill scream Yazoo finally coaxed from her unwilling throat.

Tseng bit down on his tongue as Yazoo twisted the blade cruelly in a deep cut and Elena cried out again. After a few more screams, Yazoo paused and gave them a chance to talk. There was silence, apart from Elena gasping in air. Kadaj dropped her to the ground,

"What is Rufus planning?"

Tseng looked down, sullen. Kadaj grabbed a chunk of hair and yanked the Turk's head back to look at him,

"Where is he hiding my Mother?"

His was answered only with the same frustrating silence.

"Yazoo?"

Kadaj barked the name like an order, and Yazoo obediently waited for Kadaj to once again hold Elena for him, saying arrogantly,

"I'm just getting started."

After a few sweeping slashes that sent droplets of red arching outward into the snow, Yazoo sliced a shallow wound up Elena's stomach. The cut opened what was left of her shirt, revealing her bloodstained torso. Elena shivered as the cold air hit her bare skin. The young man paused in quiet contemplation, then slowly ran the tip of his gun up her stomach suggestively,

"That suit doesn't do you justice, Turk."

There was an extra edge to his voice now and he stepped in close, his gloved fingers running down her neck. There they paused, suddenly digging into an open wound. Elena winced, and Yazoo casually wiped the blood from his fingertips on what was left of her jacket. From there he moved down to trace her collarbone delicately, stopping just short of her breasts, and the corners of his lips turned up ever so slightly.

"I bet I know what would make you really scream..."

Elena began to panic,

"Ts...Tseng!"

Tseng tried very hard to think, to figure out what he could do, but it was difficult while the human part of him wanted to rip Yazoo's throat out and the cold part said this changed nothing. It didn't matter what other torture they might have tried or that the Turks would probably die regardless, he couldn't watch them do that to Elena. The worst thing was that the cold part of him, for only a few seconds, had almost convinced him that there was nothing he should do, that nothing was worse than betraying the mission. And to make it worse, he knew that if he did do nothing, Elena wouldn't be able to hate him for it.

Yazoo, growing bolder, looked to Kadaj,

"What do you think?"

Kadaj didn't seemed surprised or shocked by his brother's change of methods, and said simply,

"Whatever you think will work."

With a thin smile, Yazoo blatantly grabbed Elena's chest, getting an odd choking noise from the woman. The gun dropped forgotten in the snow, and Yazoo brought his other hand up to her face. Elena clenched her eyes shut, still trying to keep her composure. Kadaj let go, giving her to Yazoo. He pulled her against himself, one hand holding against the small of her back while the other roamed her body. Tseng had seen enough,

"Stop it!"

Kadaj cocked his head in Tseng's direction, an insufferably smug smile on his face now that they had finally forced him to say _something_. Placing a hand on his hip he, he told himself they were making progress.

"Are you going to talk to me now?"

"She doesn't know anything. You're wasting your time."

Kadaj chuckled, seeing the stall for what it was and ignoring it.

"And what do you know?"

Tseng gritted his teeth and forced out an answer,

"Nothing."

Yazoo smirked, rather pleased with himself, and started to slip his free hand down Elena's pants,

"Then it looks like you're mine."

"I'll _fucking kill you!"_

That slipped out before Tseng had a chance to realize he was thinking it, and served only to amuse their three captors. Loz laughed uproariously, and Kadaj's mouth dropped open in sudden shock and amusement. Yazoo did not laugh, but quite suddenly dropped Elena then closed the distance between himself and Tseng in a split second. In a sudden flash of silver he brought his gun up sharply across Tseng's face, splitting open the his cheek. The wound gushed, and Tseng gagged on the sudden rush of blood.

Loz exclaimed, sounding for all the world like a little boy who had just found a snake to show his friends,

"Check this out! You went right through his cheek!"

Yazoo looked honestly astonished, and leaned over,

"Seriously?"

Yazoo inspected the wound and saw that in a small spot, if one looked carefully you could see through to the Turk's teeth. He gave Tseng a condescending pat,

"_You_ are in _no_ position to make threats."

Tseng coughed out copious amounts of blood, feeling the hot liquid streaming down his neck. Loz's laughter died off into quiet chuckling, and Kadaj seemed to remember that this was supposed to be serious.

"We can wait, Turk, for you to change your mind. All your silence will accomplish is causing your partner more pain."

He knelt in front of Elena, catching her chin in his hand a forcing her to look up at him. Kadaj held her face and brushed the hair away. He studied her features, remarking absently,

"Yazoo's right, you are quite pretty."

He smoothly drew a knife from his belt and dragged it down her face, continuing to talk calmly,

"Especially your eyes."

He sent a dark glance Tseng's way,

"Wouldn't you agree?"

Elena's mouth moved wordlessly as she fought the urge to protest, to beg him not to do what she was terrified he was about to. Kadaj shushed her gently as everyone watched in tense silence. Elena's eyes flicked wildly about, desperately searching for a way out, anywhere. But they continually came to rest on Tseng, wordlessly pleading with him to help her.

The both knew he couldn't.

_Don't beg, Elena._

Tseng thought. He knew exactly what was about to happen, and he knew Elena did as well. She was just trying to convince herself otherwise. Kadaj wiped some of the blood from her face so she could see him clearly. He repeated the question again, but with a sinister calm,

"Where is Mother?"

Elena took a gulp of air, her lower lip starting to tremble, and found her strength somewhere,

"I...I don't know."

Kadaj scoffed and poised the knife over her open eye, watching the pupil suddenly shrink and focus on the shining tip. He held the pose, hoping the looming threat would incite some answers. Elena held herself in silence. And while she might have gone pale and her legs trembled, she had reigned her fear as best she could and was refusing, above all, to beg for mercy. She caught Tseng's eyes again, and he hoped she could see the pride he felt at how she was handling herself.

_Good girl, Elena. Good Turk._

Kadaj looked to him as well, offering an ultimatum,

"Last chance."

Tseng drew a slow breath and shook his head.

With a brief flash of fury, Kadaj readjusted the grip on his knife, and plunged it into Elena's open eye.

Elena screamed.

-

Loz, entranced by the gruesome scene, loosened his grip on Tseng. Just as Elena collapsed in the snow, writhing in pain before passing out again, Tseng slammed his head back with all the force he could manage. Loz's nose gave way with a satisfying crunch, and he brought his hands up reflexively, freeing Tseng. Seizing the chance, Tseng pivoted and brought his knee up into Loz's sternum as the man doubled over. The movement threw him off balance, but Tseng moved with it, throwing Loz and himself to the ground. He'd actually managed to land his knee on Loz's throat, and was almost successful in crushing his windpipe before Yazoo slammed the butt of his gun into the back of Tseng's head, knocking him out cold.

Staggering to his feet, Loz sobbed freely, clutching at his bleeding face. Enraged by his pain, he choked,

"He broke my nosth! The basth...basthard!"

Charging the Dual Hound, Loz made as if to strike the unconscious Turk. Kadaj laid a gentle hand on his chest, calming him.

"Shush, Loz. Here."

While Loz tended his wound, Kadaj looked at the two prisoners, sneering,

"So this is Shinra's elite. I'm sorely unimpressed."

Loz handed back the cure materia and pointed out, not thinking before the words left his mouth,

"They're holding up better than _I _would've guessed."

Kadaj shot him a look that shut him up quickly, and Loz quickly tried to cover for the slip.

"I...I mean...it's just..."

"Give it up, Loz."

Yazoo cut in, coming to stand next to Kadaj. Embarrassed, Loz stepped away as Yazoo conferred quietly with his younger brother,

"This isn't working, I say we go find the other two. One of them may know."

Kadaj spread his hands, still smiling,

"Yazoo, everything is fine. Honestly," He waved at the two prone forms, chuckling, "How much more can they take? Mother will be returned to us soon, and the Reunion can begin."

Even Yazoo smiled broadly at the thought of Reunion.

"You really think so?"

Kadaj lopped an arm over his brothers shoulder, holding him close,

"Of course."

He touched their foreheads together, a comforting gestured, and held it for a few moments before breaking away. With a sweep of his arms, Kadaj said dramatically,

"But...not here. We're returning to Ajit, we can finish with them there."

Yazoo nodded, thinking of how clever Kadaj was,

"And we'll be closer to our lost brother that way."

Kadaj nodded.

"Let's go."

----

Need...so...much...cure materia... :P

If you look closely at the screenshot of all the Turks together, someone pointed out on a message board, it looks like the only visible wound on Tseng is a scar on his cheek. It could just be a blurry shot from bootlegging, but there you go.

And yes, Tseng is now phobic of swords, especially in the hands of silver haired pretty boys, I wasn't sure how scared to make him, I couldn't ruin his awesome Turkness, but I mean even Tseng has to have something that really gets to him. He IS only human, unlike some in this story.

If Elena seems like she's having a break down early on, consider that she was shot twice and was tortured/nearly raped/had her eye ripped out as soon as she woke up, I think she has a right to be a little on edge. She'll calm down later.

This is weird to write, I'm constantly wondering if I'm keeping people in character, then I realize Tseng and Elena didn't get large amounts of development in the game so there really isn't a concrete character for either of them. I dunno. It is interesting to be writing these kinds of scenes and having things happen like Elena losing her eye, any other story or group of characters would have told the SHM what they wanted, but the Turks are different like that. Fun to write.

I don't know how well I can write the 'interrogation' scenes, I really didn't know what sort of techniques would be used or what would actually affect people like the Turks, so I left a lot of it the the imagination, especially Yazoo's methods. The M rating is really just for Reno ranting later on, which contains liberal use of all forms of 'fuck'.

So there'll be some Reno and Rude soon, and lottsa Vincent later.

See ya, thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

REREAD CHAPTER 2! There were changes made that will be referred to as the story continues. I might go back and tweak chapter one a bit too.

I like the flashbacks beginning each chapter, it intrigues me as a writer. And I feel like I should keep it up. Anyhoo, this is a more Elena centered chapter.

-

On some review questions and stuff;

The Tseng/Shion issues...all translation errors. Tseng is Shion. Shion is Tseng. That's what fansubs will do.

On Turk evilness being included: I do believe they can be heartless bastards, but for the most part I think the Turks treat each other like family. I'll definitely be trying to show some of their other side, but not in interaction between them.

-

-----

-

_"Elena!"_

_A second bullet pierced her chest before she hit the snow. She didn't feel the impact, she didn't feel anything. Shock, that was the right word. It must have set in pretty quick. She'd never been shot this badly before._

_From her vantage point, she'd seen part of the fight, enough to see Rude thrown like ragdoll across the crater, and Tseng get shot in the leg while trying to fend off Loz. It wasn't fair, a small part of her mind had cried. She'd taken the bullet, they were supposed to live!_

_What good was it giving your life if no one was saved?_

_The roar of the helicopter had filled her ears as her eyes failed her._

_She'd fought not to fall unconscious, fought in fear of never waking up._

_She had to see the end of the fight._

_She had to see them live._

_They had to live..._

_She'd died for them, after all._

_What kind of friends would let themselves die after that?_

_-_

_-----_

_-_

Elena bolted upright, a startled gasp on her lips. Then the throbbing in her face doubled her over, and before she had time to cope with that the metal surface upon which she sat lurched and sent her flying. She hit a wall of some kind, hissing in a breathe to regain control of the pain as she slid to lie on the shaking floor. It continued to bounce, more gently now, and Elena had a chance to look around. She realized she was in the back of a covered truck. There were no windows, and she bet the two heavy doors at the back were securely locked. The only source of light was a few stray rays of dim sunlight that managed to leak through small holes in the roof. Debris rolled and bounced around her on the slightly rusted metal flooring as the truck rumbled along on what was probably a rocky dirt road, or at least something with way too many potholes.

In the small, dimly lit space, it was no challenge to find Tseng, but a great relief. Elena crawled slowly to where he lay, gingerly keeping her head away from anything that might touch the tender flesh. It was more difficult than it should have been, her neck ached, and the other objects in the truck seemed intent on bumping into her. Still, she made it without too much trouble,

"Sir."

Elena rasped, her throat was dry and uncooperative. She swallowed painfully, trying to soothe the irritation, and coughed. Tseng didn't respond and his eyes stayed closed, so she nudged the still form with her shoulder, entreating,

"Tseng, _please_..."

She thought he'd moved, but it might have just been the truck jostling them both. She was starting to worry, and leaned close to his face, listening for breathing. Her heart stopped beating quite so fast when she confirmed that he was still alive. Another sudden bump from the truck slammed their heads together painfully, sending Elena into a cursing fit that would have impressed Reno. Sitting back up, she shook her head spastically, pulling against the restraints as her hands instinctively tried to rub the pained flesh. Recovering slowly, she looked back to Tseng and thought she saw his mouth move. She dropped back to the floor, straining her ears to hear over the rumbling wheels. Leaning close, but keeping a wary distance to prevent a repeat of recent events, she ended up catching what sounded like a string of words that had no business being in the same sentence together. Confuse, she leaned in close enough that her skin brushed against his. With a start she realized that even though it was quite cold in the truck, he was feverish.

Elena felt a very justified surge of panic at the realization, but she subdued it quickly in favor of thinking this through calmly. There was a chance Tseng was sick, that one of his injuries had been infected or even that blood loss was starting to take its toll. But she was awake, Elena thought, and her wounds were just as bad if not worse than his. At least, she thought they were. Confused, she looked down at her wounds, now wondering more about why she was awake and moving then why Tseng was sweating. Her bloodstained coat hung in shreds, and under it her skin showed a mass of criss crossed slices around two partially healed bullet holes. She could feel the bullets, somewhere inside her chest nestled between tissue and bone. She'd felt that before. She'd been shot on one of her first missions, and at the time they had cast a quick cure spell to hold her over, while it had stopped the bleeding it had also sealed the bullet inside her. One of the silver haired men must have cured her, if only a small amount. Her face hurt tremendously, but she could think fairly clearly and was sure she felt better then she should have. If their captors wanted them alive enough to cure her, it stood to reason they would have cured Tseng as well.

He'd been drugged, she reasoned, recognizing some of the signs. Sedated heavily. They must not have thought she would wake up on her own and not bothered sedating her as well. Elena 'hmmffed', insulted by the implications therein. The least their enemies could do was not underestimate her, she hated it when people underestimate her. She would have thought taking a bullet might have given them a hint that she was stronger then she looked. With that at least partially figured out, she looked back down at Tseng, who was still muttering gibberish and occasionally thrashing. It seemed like she would only have herself for company at the moment.

While Elena didn't have any way of knowing how long the drive would be, she decided to assume it would be short, and to make the most of her time unsupervised. The doors in the back, she confirmed, were sealed shut. When she'd kicked them, she'd been rewarded with the rattle of heavy chains from outside. There were no windows, not that she could have reached them anyway, and the ceiling was out of the question with her arms tied. She considered chewing the restraints off of Tseng and hoping he would wake up in time to free her, but that idea was destroyed when she realized the restraints were some kind of wire. Periodically, while she wracked her brain for ideas, the throbbing in her face would intensify enough to put her into a ball of misery on the uncomfortable floor. When it passed, Elena would sit back up, scanning the truck for other options.

After what felt like hours, her face throbbed mercilessly. She was long out of ideas for escape plans and was leaning back into a corner to prevent more unwelcome jostling. Occasionally she would glance around the truck, an attempt to check for anything she might have missed. After another scan, she leaned her head against the wall to mope, returning her focus to her own injuries. Her eye, she thought. The one thing she'd been doing her best not to think about. The bastards had taken her eye. Without the escape option to focus on, the thought finally hit her that the worst part of this wasn't the pain she was feeling right now. The pain would pass eventually, but her eye was gone for good. It was like she could see the knife even now, the tip barely a centimeter from her pupil, dominating her vision. The memory made her shudder and feel vaguely nauseous. Thinking back on it, she was amazed at herself for not turning into a blubbering mess at the threat. Even she would have thought she didn't have what it took to stand up under that kind of pressure. But she had, even if she wasn't sure what it accomplished, and that meant something.

Elena shifted her weight, feeling her legs falling asleep, and leaned back against the wall again. Tseng yelled something incoherent, kicking against the wall suddenly. Whatever he was trying to go on about, it must have bothered him, because he continued to thrash. Elena wasn't sure what to do, or if she could do anything, but when he pulled against the restraints, digging the wires into his skin deep enough to draw blood, she dropped back to the floor, thinking she had to do something. Elena laid next to him and spoke quickly, trying to sound calming in the hopes that it would get through the drugged sleep.

At the feeling of another person near him, Tseng reacted violently, which, Elena realized after he'd elbowed her in the stomach, she should have expected. He did seem to relax a bit after the initial jolt, although it took Elena a few minutes to try lying down again. This time he stayed still, letting her rest against him.

She never thought she'd die this way. What little girl imagines herself tied up in the back of a truck, waiting to be tortured by three silver haired psychopaths? Of course, most little girls don't imagine joining the Turks. For Elena, the promotion to Turk had just been the next logical step in bettering her life, a new rank, a better paycheck, a bit more respect from the company. Shiva, but the Turks were anything but what she had expected. And Reno, she half smiled at the memory now, he'd made her wish she'd never heard the name Shinra, like it was her fault he had gotten himself hospitalized. Had she not wanted to impress Tseng so much, there was a good chance she might have instead left Midgar. Quitting had never been an option, a Turk only left their job in a body-bag, but Reno had almost made her miserable enough to spend her life on the run from Shinra. But between Rude's occasional kind word and Tseng's few encouraging moments, she'd weathered her way through the fall of the company and worse. And right when she'd begun to regard the small group as her family, Sephiroth had torn it apart.

They'd all thought Tseng had died in the Temple of the ancients. After all, he'd gone in, and none of them had seen him again. And with Avalanche and Sephiroth in the area, all in conflicting interests, the only real option was that Tseng had finally taken on more than he could handle alone. Elena still felt the pain even though he was right next to her. Until Reno had given them the news she hadn't even known pain like that could exist. The Turks hadn't been the same after that day. Reno had tried to be a good leader, and in many ways he was, but he was no Tseng. He'd gotten bitter, frustrated. All the responsibilities of leadership that had been forced on him only drove it home that the only man he'd ever truly respected was gone, and he hadn't been there to help him. Unable to let himself be sad, Reno had gotten angry. Instead of the annoying but strangely charming partner with a constant quip on his tongue, Reno had become irritable and increasingly violent. There had been times when Elena had feared for her life. Rude had seemed to disappear into his silence while he tried to cope with the loss of their leader. Though not one for words, Rude had always expressed nothing but the utmost admiration of Tseng. Rude had known him the longest of the three of them, and the two had shared in more bloodshed then either could remember. Reno may have been his best friend and partner, but Tseng had been something altogether different and just as vital to Rude. Tseng had been the pillar that held the Turks up, and without him they fell quickly enough. Not that Rufus had cared. As long as they could still murder, kidnap and blackmail he didn't care what was tearing them apart inside and out.

And then, almost a year and a half later, he'd appeared. A little worse for the wear and not quite finished healing, Tseng had walked through their door in Midgar, very much alive and practically the same as they all remembered him. Reno had jumped at the chance to give up leadership, letting his willingness to step aside show his happiness. Rude had thrown off his silence for long enough to express his own disbelief and joy, while Elena had been too overwhelmed to even talk. She had, at first, been too happy to have him back to even remember the last thing he had said to her. Then they had fallen into the difficult job of rebuilding Shinra while protecting Rufus from those who would have him dead, one of the most difficult tasks that had ever fallen to them. By the time Elena remembered that Tseng had asked her to dinner, the memory was so long ago she would have felt foolish bringing it up. It was never the right time, she had reasoned with herself, masking her cowardice. He seemed to have forgotten it as well, and Elena couldn't help but wonder if he had been serious.

Elena took a look at their bloody and beaten bodies. They were going to die, the Turk part of her mind remarked. They were going to die, and she had never told him how she felt. That somehow hurt more then thinking he had died two years before. Feeling wretched, Elena laid her head down, wondering how she could kill, scheme and threaten the innocent without so much as a tinge of hesitation, but somehow lacked the spine to say three stupid, cliche words.

-

-

Over the next few hours, Elena drifted in and out of consciousness, letting the lurching of the truck become a lulling motion. She was still fighting sleep when the truck ground to a slow stop. Elena shot up again, thinking that if she were going to do anything, now would be the time. Working her way through the truck, she managed to get herself near the doors. If she could pull off what she had in mind, at the very least she would show them that Turks didn't just lay down and die. The chains outside clanked as they were removed and tossed aside, accompanied by the murmur of voices. As the door opened, spilling blue light in, Elena braced herself. The instant one of the brother's faces came into view she acted. In what probably looked comical, she threw herself forward and though the movement was clumsy she managed to kick Yazoo square in the face before falling out of the truck. On the way down her jacket caught, scraping her back against the sharp rusty metal before tearing and dropping her into the dirt. Yazoo staggered back, more surprised than hurt.

Elena started to sit up, and turned to find a sword in front of her face. Following the twin blades, she looked up at Kadaj, who made a disapproving noise from behind a bemused smile. Elena froze, fear overriding her brain at the sight of sharp steel near her face again. Kadaj flicked the blade casually, slinging it over his shoulder. Coming up next to him, Yazoo rubbed at a red mark on his cheek, saying irritably to Kadaj,

"I told you she needed to be sedated too."

Kadaj shrugged the statement off,

"Did the little girl hurt you, Yazoo?"

Loz chuckled, throwing Elena effortlessly over his shoulder,

"Gonna cry, Yazoo?"

Her rage fueled by the complacent attitude of her captors, Elena yelled and kicked hard into Loz's gut. He dropped her, holding his stomach in pain. On the ground, Elena thrashed weakly, having hit her limit of painful impacts for the time being. The drop reopened her eye partially, and a hot stream of something trailed down her face. Kadaj dropped down next to her, taking a firm hold on her shoulder, silently warning her to keep still. Yazoo smirked at Loz, unable to resist,

"Don't cry, Loz."

"Shut up!"

Loz snapped back, his pride more hurt than his stomach. Yazoo backed off a bit, noting that Loz seemed to have taken the insult a bit more seriously than usual. Loz glared at him bitterly, wondering to himself why, if he was the oldest, his brothers insisted on treating him like the youngest. Kadaj hoisted Elena up and gave her a push. She stumbled, but managed not to fall. Realizing that they were back to work, Loz sighed and yanked Tseng from the truck. With a deliberate look at Elena, he let the unconscious Turk drop roughly to the ground and waited to see a reaction. Elena gave him a disgusted look before pointedly turning away. It occurred to her then that the three men acted more like children than anything else, Loz was certainly spiteful enough.

For the first time, Elena noticed the strange forest they had stopped it. The trees around her were glowing like fluorescent lights, and seemed to reverberate with some life force. She shivered, feeling like there was something watching them from behind the trees, though she could see nothing. There were the remains of something nearby, but if it had been a building, it was like none she had ever seen as it resembled a seashell more than anything else. Kadaj walked past her, making a point to shove her aside as he did, and again she recalled spiteful children. The young man continued walking, and Yazoo jabbed Elena in the back with one of his guns, prompting her to follow. She looked over her shoulder, seeing that Loz had finally picked up Tseng and was trailing behind them with his burden. She guessed that being made to walk was her punishment for fighting back. It didn't seem like much, but her chest already burned, and her head was pounding. The blade prodded again, and Elena staggered a few uneasy steps. It hurt, but she didn't know what they would do if she stopped, and so continued.

They made their way into the ethereal forest on trails too narrow for the truck, although Elena took in little of her surroundings as they traveled. She stumbled along, now and then feeling the sharp sting of Yazoo's gunblade when she slowed. The wire between her feet left her little room for movement, and more often than not felt like it would send her head over heals at any moment. She panted harshly, and each breath seemed to burn into her injured lungs as her body tried to tell her how unhappy it was with her at the moment. The hot liquid dripping from her eye had leaked down her neck and into her clothes, now joined by lines of sweat as the exertion took its toll. Every injury seemed to be screaming at her, from the half healed bullet wounds to every small cut Yazoo had inflicted upon her. Under the pain, she tried to think, tried to find that one way out that a Turk should have seen. But if walking was such a challenge, running was out of the question. And even if she managed to make a run for it, she couldn't leave Tseng behind.

Her face became the one focus in her life, like the only thing that existed was the pain there. Every step sent a jolt through the injury, and before long tears had joined the streams of sweat on her face, stinging when they ran into the criss crossed slices in her skin. The pain ran deep, seeming to pierce into her brain and trailing down into her neck at times. The world dissolved into a mass of blinding white, punctuated by a few smears of darkness, and Yazoo took to more persistent jabs to keep her following Kadaj. She vaguely heard them speaking, and wondered if her current state was part of their discussion before finally dropping to her knees, her breath in harsh, quick gasps and her body trembling with the effort it took to even stay sitting up. As she heaved in another breath, she felt one of the bullets in her chest twist within her lung painfully and coughed.

She heard sharp words, but did not bother to listen any closer. A strong hand yanked at her arm, pulling her back up before dragging her forward again. She made no effort to hold herself up or walk another step, but let whichever one it was holding her deal with 145 pounds of dead weight. While she had no way of knowing how long he dragged her, or even the slightest idea where they were going, she couldn't help but be relieved when he finally threw her back to the ground and the sound of retreating footsteps said that she would be left alone for the moment.

-

-

Kadaj lounged in the branches of tree, not letting the fact that he was sitting in glowing foliage bother him in the slightest, and dialed his phone. He couldn't let them just drop off the map, he'd already made the first strike against Rufus and his meddling, now he had to pursue. The phone rang several times, and he was sure they were looking at the caller ID and wondering if they wanted to answer. He wasn't expected them to be happy to hear from him, so he wasn't surprised when he heard the tight, barely contained rage in the voice at the other end.

"What do you want?"

It was the big Turk who was speaking. Kadaj could hear the other one, the crazy red head, swearing in the background somewhere. Kadaj replied smoothly, letting a dangerous edge creep into his voice. It sounded akin to what he imagined Sephiroth would,

"Let me speak with the President."

He heard some shouting when the big Turk relayed the message, apparently the red head didn't like the idea. Kadaj was patient for once, assured in the fact that the President couldn't afford not to talk to him. The red heads voice raised, and Kadaj caught snippets of the three speaking, but it was muffled and sounded as though the big Turk had covered the mouthpiece.

'..._fucking monsters...'_

_'...ave to know...'_

_'...north crater...'_

_'...lm down Re...'_

_'...Se an' 'Lena...'_

'_...the phone...'_

_'...n't do...'_

_'...now!...'_

There was shuffling, and silence. Kadaj narrowed his eyes, planning the manner of punishment he would bring down on them for hanging up on him when Rufus' collected voice suddenly came through,

"Hello, Kadaj."

A grin broke out on Kadaj's face.

"Mr President...I believe you have something I'm looking for."

Completely unfazed, Rufus began apologetically,

"I'm not sure I..."

"Don't lie to me, Mr President, I hate it when people lie to me."

Kadaj cut him off sharply, hoping he could hear the threat in his voice. If he did, Rufus made no sign of it, and continued in level tones.

"I'm sorry you feel that way, but I don't know what you're talking about."

Kadaj wielded his words like a blade, making the next question more of an accusation than anything else.

"Then maybe you'd like to explain what your men were doing in the North Crater?"

Still infuriatingly calm, Rufus told what both of them knew was a blatant lie,

"Nothing of interest, just some standard reconnaissance."

"Oh, and in the last place Mother was seen?"

"Is it? I hadn't realized."

There was an emotion in his voice that Kadaj couldn't quite identify lying beneath the calm. The closest thing he could relate it to was a particularly dark humor. Kadaj did not appreciate any joke, no matter how small, at his expense, and raised his voice a fraction.

"I don't think you're taking this seriously enough, Mr President, that could be foolish."

Without a pause, Rufus's voice came back at him,

"Ah, I've just remembered..."

"What?"

"Do you recall the name 'Cloud'?"

Kadaj was undeniably interested after that particular name came up, and confirmed,

"My brother."

Hasty but never rushed, Rufus explained,

"Yes, him. I would think that, if anyone had indeed have reason to steal your Mother, it would have been him. Perhaps you should check."

The diversion was tempting, and Kadaj had known he would be going after Cloud soon anyway, but Rufus mentioning him made it seem a more pressing concern. Not that Kadaj would let Rufus know how intrigued he really was. Instead, he said venomously,

"He wasn't the one we found in the Crater."

Dismissively, like he had much better things to be doing, Rufus exclaimed,

"What use would I have with your mother? I have much more important things to worry about right now."

Kadaj smirked to himself and went for a brutal strike,

"Like filling in recent gaps in your staff."

That seemed to finally phase the president, and there was silence at the end of the line. Assured that he had essentially 'won' the conversation, Kadaj smiled and continued brightly,

"This was a pleasant chat, Mr President, and I wish you well. Goodbye."

Kadaj closed the phone, his smile vanishing, and thoughtfully chewed on the antenna as he assessed the situation. He knew Rufus was lying. He had to be. But Kadaj wasn't sure how much. Cloud was certainly a concern of his. If Cloud really had taken Mother two years ago, then even if Rufus were looking for her, Cloud might indeed be in possession of her. He couldn't afford not to check.

This change of events didn't worry Kadaj too much. It wasn't that hard to keep track of Cloud, he was a world renowned hero. Anyone who cared to spend a few minutes looking could find out exactly where he lived now.

-

-

Ok, so the timeline is a bit messed up around here, because I'm not sure how or when Rufus told Kadaj Cloud had Jenova, so I'm putting it here. I believe there's a chunk of time between now and the next chapter, as I would put the credit sequence(when Loz and Yazoo attack Cloud) there. After that, Kadaj is headed to Healin for the 'Kadaj/Sephiroth/Kadaj/Sephiroth' sequence, and Loz and Yazoo go back to Ajit. I think that fits in with the movie timeline. I think.


	4. Chapter 4

˙˙Whoot, chapter four. Again, I'm not confident about how well I'm meshing this into the Advent Children timeline, but I think it makes sense. If it doesn't, oh well I suppose.

Honestly though, the scene where Kadaj tosses Rufus Tseng and Elena's ID's was one of the most dramatic 'OHMIGOD!" moments of the movie. For me at least.

-

-----

-

-

The world came into focus slowly, like he was awakening from a nap that hadn't offered enough rest. The room was small, and the elegantly curved walls were literally glowing with eery white light. Far above him, the ceiling was open, revealing trees that bore the same unnatural glow framing the faint light of the stars. He felt groggy, and had a few brief memories from however long he had been out that led him to believe he had been drugged, quite heavily if the rapidly emerging headache was any indication. He heard a shuffle nearby, and tensed warily until Elena spoke,

"You're awake."

He leaned back against the smooth wall,

"Mostly." He cracked open his eyes, looking at Elena with a level stare that made it seem like just another day at the office, "Where are we?"

She looked up from where she also leaned against the wall,

"I don't know."

With nothing else to offer, she fell silent, waiting for him to say something, to be the leader. Tseng stared at the other side of the room, thinking to himself. He honestly had no clue where they could be, he'd never seen or heard anything about glowing trees. It bothered him even though it probably made no difference. He wondered how Reno and Rude were fairing, and what Rufus would do with Jenova's head. While it had seemed like the young president had intended to use the head for something, Tseng hoped he had the sense to have destroyed it by now, but his better judgement told him that Rufus would likely hold it as a bargaining chip, taking the unnecessary risk that Kadaj would get his hands on it. What Kadaj and his kin wanted the neck for, Tseng also did not know, but he knew it was in the best interests of the world to make sure it was kept away from them, not to mention a major part of his orders.

Not knowing how long he had been out worried him. Elena seemed more awake than him, and part of him briefly wondered if she had already told the silver haired men something. He banished the thought, telling himself that he had to trust her, and reminding himself that if she had told then he wouldn't have woken up at all. There was too much he didn't know about the situation, it wasn't something he was used to. If he could manage to kill at least one of the brothers before they got bored with playing interrogator, though, he would feel content.

Elena groaned, leaning into the wall like she was trying to melt into it.

"It hurts...it hurst so much more than I thought..."

She cut herself off, reminding herself that they were both hurt and not wanting to be the only one complaining. The wall was cool, and helped to somewhat sooth the angry wound. Forcing her remaining eye open, Elena looked entreatingly to Tseng,

"How bad is it?"

There was a note in her voice that begged to be told she would be alright, and he was tempted to do so. The left half of her face was swollen several times its normal size, a sickly purple color dominating her pale skin. That was to be expected from such a wound, but what else Tseng saw worried him. He could see the veins leading to and from the puffy socket, they appeared almost black and traced a pattern under her skin. The eyelids had mostly sealed together, but the messy scab was oozing bloody puss that had crusted in a trail down to her shirt. It was badly infected already, and it would only get worse.

Elena, seeing nothing on his face, asked urgently,

"Tseng?"

"It's bad."

He said quietly. With a look of glum resignation, Elena slumped against the wall.

------

------

Taking advantage of the unsupervised situation, Tseng checked the walls for a door or a weak spot. The walls were smooth like the inside of an abalone shell, and if there was a door, it remained hidden in the slick curves. The material was strong as well, and after a thorough inspection of the small prison, Tseng knew they wouldn't be breaking any holes in it. Defeated for the moment, he returned to sit near Elena.

She regarded him rather calmly,

"I looked too, there's no way out."

"Why didn't you say that in the first place?"

Elena half heartedly shrugged,

"You would have checked anyway."

Elena leaned against him hesitantly and, when he had made no move to stop her, laid her head on his shoulder as if seeking reassurance. He said nothing, but shifted into what he hoped was a more comfortable position for her. The gesture felt natural, and offered some solace to them both that if nothing else, there was someone with them. Elena marveled at the comfort such simple contact could bring, and that Tseng had accepted it. He must have thought things were truly hopeless to drop his guard so far. Or maybe, she found the next notion more pleasing but less likely, he wanted the contact.

For a time Tseng reviewed some of the more underhanded attacks he knew, things that he might have a chance to utilize if one of the brothers slipped up again, but not many presented themselves. His injuries were limiting what he could manage, the bullets in his leg had begun to shoot pain up the length of his side, and he was fairly certain he wouldn't be able to move as fast as he would want to. His sight was limited under the swelling, and his chest hurt when he took a deep breath. There was a chance he could trip one of them up again, but with his ankles tied together any such move would bring him down as well, and he didn't think they would give him another shot at that anyway. Unless he could get another head-butt in there wasn't much he could do, especially with the way his arms had been bound. That also prevented him from slipping his hands under his feet and partially freeing himself.

Shifting focus, he tried to see exactly what kind of shape Elena was in. Her eyes were closed and her breathing low, like she had dozed off. It was difficult to tell where exactly she had been hurt under the amount of blood on her skin and clothing. The cuts varied in severity and none seemed too lethal at the moment, but her chest lurched when she breathed more deeply, hinting that her lungs weren't in the greatest shape or some of her ribs had been broken too. It seemed like her eye was the more worrisome wound, but that was more than enough. Tseng had seen such wounds before, they could kill frighteningly fast. Without medical attention, Elena had a few days before delirium set in, and then it would be too late. Of course, there was a good chance she wouldn't see those few days, so the injury was perhaps not as problematic as it seemed.

Elena shifted slightly, and he realized she was still awake.

"We're going to die this time, aren't we?"

The question, while not unexpected, seemed sudden, and Tseng couldn't help but answer as matter of factly as he did most things.

"Yes. I think so."

She knew, but a part of her had clung to the faint hope that in the end everything would be fine, that they would pull through like always. She'd wanted Tseng to squelch that hope, it wasn't fair to lie to herself, but it still hurt.

"You don't have to be so blunt about it."

"There's no way to say that nicely."

"I guess not."

Elena conceded. She sighed deeply and shifted her weight, taking some comfort in the fact that he was letting her lean on him.

"Do you have any kind of plan?"

"As long as we say nothing, we'll have done our jobs. If you can hurt them, all the better, but don't expect to do any real damage."

She nodded,

"They aren't human."

The conversation was a welcome distraction, and Tseng kept it going.

"What do you think they are?"

Elena chewed her lip in quiet contemplation, thinking back two years to the incident that had surely spawned the brothers.

"Left over Sephiroth clones?"

Tseng considered the answer careful, having thought that himself for a time. but there was something that didn't fit that theory, something off about the silver haired men. Like they were missing a vital piece of the legendary warrior they so resembled. Incomplete.

"Perhaps. But the clones were mindless."

"Maybe someone tried again and did it right this time."

"Not clones..." he thought aloud, "But something similar."

There was a pause. There wasn't much left to that conversation but speculation and no guarantee of a real answer. Elena dropped it for a more pressing matter.

"What do they want Jenova for?"

Tseng started to shrug, but stopped himself before the movement jarred Elena's wounds,

"I don't know, but it's in our best interests to keep it from them, don't you think?"

Elena thought that most people would have, by now, decided that they didn't care what Kadaj wanted the head for if it meant they could go free. But Turks were different. That was the end of another topic, and Elena half smiled. Tseng had a way of making conversations brief and to the point, even if he wasn't trying to. Looking at her wounds, she pointed out,

"They healed us. Just a little bit."

Tseng wasn't as surprised by the realization as Elena had been.

"We've cured prisoners before."

Elena remembered well enough and found her work experience easy to apply here.

"Just enough to keep us alive and talking."

With a sigh, she leaned back and closed her eyes,

"It's a lot different being on this end, huh?"

Tseng didn't think too much on that, instead criticizing.

"Their techniques are crude."

Ever the Turk. Elena doubted anyone else could so coldly talk about being tortured. She said darkly, remembering some of their threats.

"Yeah, but the simplest methods can be surprisingly effective. You told me that."

Tseng stared at the opposite wall, a familiar tone in his voice, one usually reserved for giving orders.

"Then you also remember being told the job comes first. That means no matter what they do to you or to me you say _nothing_."

It hadn't yet occurred to Elena that they might try using Tseng against her, and the thought worried her. She didn't know how long she could watch him be hurt, but the truth was she didn't know where the head had been taken, so there was no danger of betraying the mission.

Thinking that was not the best note to end things on, Tseng continued, still in the firm, authoritative voice Elena was so used to hearing.

"Just because you think the situation is hopeless doesn't mean we don't keep our eyes open. If you see one second of distraction, if you feel your restraints loosen, or anything, be ready."

Elena nodded briefly as Tseng continued,

"And Elena..." He paused, knowing she really wasn't going to like what he was about to suggest, "If you get the chance, run. Don't pass up an opportunity because of me."

She moved to look up at him, something akin to indignation on her face.

"Turks don't leave each other behind, _Sir_."

She said, stronger than he had expected. Tseng continued firmly,

"Reno and Rude did. Just like they were ordered to."

Elena started to shake her head, then thought better of the movement, and argued,

"They're looking for us! I know it."

"They think we're dead."

Tseng said, louder and harsher then he'd intended, and the outburst silenced Elena instantly. After a few moments Tseng continued in gentler tones that made the grave news somehow more somber.

"There's no help coming."

He saw her face clench as she took the words to heart, thinking it all over. She didn't look sad or desperate, and she made no foolish arguments the way she often had when she first joined. For a moment it struck Tseng how different she seemed after they had been separate for that year and a half. Where she had always been intelligent and resourceful, now she was much less naive, and more professional and dedicated then many to wear the suit before her.

Mature worked for her, he thought simply, she wore it well.

Elena leaned back against the cool wall, looking upward to the dark sky and glowing branches far above the small room. A small sigh escaped her and she shrugged nonchalantly,

"That's it, then. Why not? It's not like I had plans for my life anyway."

There was maybe a hint of bitterness in her words, but not much else. If anything they were flippant. She rolled her head to the side, again facing him,

"I always thought I would just get shot...this...this isn't how I expected to go."

Although morbid, the conversation felt easy somehow as Tseng added,

"I always considered a quick gunshot the best case scenario...this was more what I figured was likely. We make some vicious enemies."

Elena felt a tight spot in her chest as she spoke her next words, but forced herself to continue by reminding herself that this might be the last chance she would ever have. Even so, her eyes flicked downward as a familiar knot of anxiety twisted her stomach.

"There's something I've wanted to say for long time, Tseng...but...I was always..."

She let the sentence hang in midair, but both of them knew what she was hinting at. Tseng was more surprised by the sudden statement then he should have been, her affections were no secret to him, and while he had spent some time thinking it over, unrequited love hadn't really been on his mind since the crater. Breathing in as deeply as she could without causing herself pain, Elena tried again,

"If we're going to die, I just...wanted you to know that..."

She hesitated again, and the seconds stretched on painfully before Tseng realized he didn't want to hear this. It wasn't for lack of interest, but rather that he already knew well enough, and he wasn't sure how hearing it so bluntly would cause him to react. Instead, he moved over, laying his head on hers and shushing gently.

"I know."

Elena didn't know if she was supposed to be relieved or excited or disappointed, she wasn't even sure what he meant by that. She tried to explain, feeling like she had to justify herself,

"I've wanted to say something, but it never seemed like the right time. And when you came back, I wanted to tell you...but there was so much else to worry about...and I was trying to wait...to wait for the right moment."

She felt like some idiot teenager. This was her last chance to say these thing, so she tried not to let it hurt so much, instead cursing herself for never having the guts to say it before now. Tseng sighed wearily, and for a moment she heard the wear of hard years and old pains that he had learned long ago to deal with. For a second she could see the weariness on his face and realized the toll the job had taken on him, and she wondered if someone else had been able to tell him the things she wanted to say, someone long ago who hadn't lasted as long as he had. Obviously speaking from experience, Tseng murmured,

"There's never a right moment."

-----

-----

A door slammed open somewhere, though the walls had seemed smooth when they had looked earlier. Loz and Yazoo had practically melted out of the shadows and stood leering in the dim light. The glow made their skin seem all the more pale, and in this light they resembled corpses more than anything else. With a pointed look at Elena leaning on Tseng, Yazoo mocked gently,

"Isn't that sweet?"

He chuckled and leaned back against the wall. Loz stepped forward, a crackle of electricity surrounding his hand as he charged his Dual Hound. The two points snapped out, and from the look on Loz's face he must have thought of something new to try,

"Kadaj is off to visit your Boss," Elena felt Tseng tense at the mention of Rufus, and could not mask her own worry, "But he told us to keep you two company while he was away."

Past caring, Tseng watched them with an expression void of anything except perhaps boredom. It seemed to infuriate Loz. The look on his face promised that he would do everything in his power the make them suffer, and he made good that promise.

-----

------

Kadaj was more then ready for Reno's attack.

He'd known the Turks would try to jump him the instant he appeared at Healin, and he was perfectly happy to humiliate them in front of their President. Reno let out a war cry of the purest hatred Kadaj had ever heard and came in with his electro mag rod sparking. Kadaj dodged effortlessly, almost dancing as he evaded the attacks even when Rude joined the fight.

He did not draw his sword, instead lashing out at odd moments of the deadly dance with his feet and fists. He had to admit, both Turks took the harsh blows seemingly without noticing, the only real indication that he had hit anything was Reno's louder swearing and the blood splatters that appeared on the suits. Kadaj ducked under a horizontal swing from Reno, reaching behind him to catch Rude's wrists when the Turk tried to grab him. Bracing his feet, he flipped Rude over his shoulder and into Reno. Both fell to the ground and made a mad scramble to stand, fury fueling their will to continue fighting. Kadaj stood still when they charged again, partners in perfect unison, and almost impressive. But they were getting tired, and Kadaj had the strength of Jenova flowing in his veins.

He dropped and kicked Reno's feet out, diving forward as he did to clothesline the man. They passed Rude, and Kadaj slammed Reno into the wood floor, watching the boards splinter and crack upon impact. Kadaj kicked himself back up using Reno's torso as a starting point, and from the hacking noise he heard it seemed like Reno was down for the time being. He launched himself right into Rude, not intimidated by his size in the least. Rude managed a glancing blow to Kadaj's face and realized his error too late, taking advantage of how close he was, Kadaj slammed his open palm into Rude's chest, actually lifting him from the ground.

Rude choked and grabbed at Kadaj's wrist as he tried to relieve the pressure. It felt like Kadaj's fingers were actually piercing his skin, and as the young man tightened his grip he felt bones starting to give under his strength. Rude made another choking noise and Kadaj twisted his hand sharply, tossing him to the side as well. He flicked his hand delicately, watching a few droplets of blood fly from his fingertips, and walked a half circle around Rufus,

"I told you, I don't like being lied to."

From his place on the floor, Reno tried to focus. He could hear Kadaj and Rufus speaking, but his ears were ringing from his impact with the floor. The young man walked by him, and all Reno could see was that last glimpse he had caught of Tseng and Elena as the three silver haired brothers had moved in. He tried to get up, he really did, but his body wasn't responding the way it was supposed to and in the end all Reno could do was lie on the floor and listen to Rufus dance around Kadaj's questions.

Kadaj stood and went to leave just as Reno found the strength to push himself up from the floor. He groped about for a moment before finding the handle of his mag rod, and Kadaj paused in the middle of the room, waiting for the attack. If Reno knew Kadaj was perfectly aware of his movement, he didn't care, and charged the silver haired man viciously. With inhuman speed Kadaj whipped around and seized Reno's wrist in midflight. He squeezed, and Reno released the weapon. Reno punched hard with his free hand, aiming for Kadaj's face, but found himself suddenly wrenched around. Fluidly, far to easily, Kadaj threw him into the wall and held him with an iron grip about his throat.

Reno managed a strangled breath, his glowing eyes slits of hatred,

"You...little _bastard_..."

Kadaj leaned in a bit closer, dropping his voice to a hiss,

"You want to know what I did to your friends, Turk?"

Not listening to Reno's sputtering, Kadaj sneered and whispered,

"We made your boss _scream, _and then...I took the girls eyes."

Reno's eyes widened and he aimed a particularly ferocious kick toward Kadaj's chest. Kadaj slammed him again into the wall, and the impact left Reno's head spinning and his vision pinpoints of white light. With an off handed gesture, Kadaj dropped Reno to the floor. Reno curled over, too hurt to rise again, but not too hurt to spew profanity he hadn't known he knew. Kadaj knelt over him, adding as a final shot.

"If you lie to me again, it you get in my way, I'll do worse to you."

With that, Kadaj turned on his heel and left Healin. As the motorcycle motor faded into the night, Reno gasped in a steadying breath. A strong hand descended on his shoulder, and Rude helped him to his feet. Reno pushed away the help and used the wall for support instead. He slammed his fist into the wood, seething,

"We let him leave..."

He began, dangerously quiet. Rude was silent, not knowing what he could say to his partner, and Rufus seemed not to care where he sat near the window, preoccupied with what Kadaj had shown him. Reno punched the wall harder, his voice rising,

"We fucking let him _leave!_ What he _fuck _kind of Turks are we?"

Rude reached out again, hoping to calm him,

"Reno, we tried..."

Reno slapped the hand away, rounding on Rude angrily,

"Don't give me that bullshit!"

He stammered some half sentences, as if he was too enraged to even speak. Rude grabbed his shoulder firmly, trying to force him to quiet down. There was a sudden blaze in Reno's eyes that Rude had never seen before, and then his partner took a swing at him. Normally Rude could take a punch, but either Kadaj's beating had hurt him more than he would admit, or rage had lent Reno strength. Reno threw his arms out as Rude stumbled back to sat on the floor,

"Don't fucking touch me! That fucking kid just fucking..."

He gestured maniacally, starting to pace, it was like he had to move or he would go insane. He continue to yell, his voice rising and his gestures becoming more wild,

"Fuck!" Words seemed to failed him, so he settled for what he knew, "Fucking little fucker just fucking fuck..._fuck!_"

"Reno!" Rude started to say as he stood back up, Reno again rounded on him fiercely, but said nothing. He kicked out instead, smashing a small table in an instant. It was as if he had his answer then, and he went with it. For a minute, Reno was a one man riot, a screaming fit of uncontained hate. He lashed out at the room itself, screaming incoherently with the occasional swear, kicking at the few pieces of furniture. At some point the mag rod had returned to his hand, and he slammed it into the wall, breaking though the solid wood. He continued to scream as Rude watched in silence, frustrated at failing to save his fellow Turks, hating himself for letting Kadaj beat him, hating Kadaj for what he had done, hating the wall for existing, and hating the world just for good measure.

When the wall seemed like more hole, and his hands were covered in splinters and small gashes, Reno suddenly seemed to lose whatever it was keeping him up. The mag rod fell weakly from his fingers, clattering to the floor forgotten, and he dropped to his knees, holding his face in both hands. He did not cry, but Rude knew if he had ever wanted to, now would have been the time. He also knew better then to try and offer comfort. Reno turned his back to what was left of the wall and sat, heaving in air.

When he spoke, it was quietly, like he didn't trust himself to speak any louder,

"'Lena's dead, Rude. 'Lena and Tseng...fuck." he leaned his head onto his legs and held himself, miserable. Rude looked down at the floor, fighting his own battle with the cold pit in his stomach and the unwelcome pain hidden behind his glasses. Losing Tseng the first time had been hard enough, having him returned had made the four feel invincible. Now, two of their members were gone, and it cut deep. Reno moaned,

"I shoulda been down there instead...what was he thinking?" He looked up, "Tseng was better pilot then me, why wasn't I on the ground?"

Rude could offer no answer. He reached to his side, picking up the bloody ID's from where they lay on the floor. The pictures stared back at him, and he couldn't quite convince himself that they were really gone this time. Reno slammed his hand into he floor, wincing as the injuries protested

"We fucking survived _Sephiroth_, and for what? To get offed by these punks?"

Rude touched the pictures on the IDs gently, contemplatively, before pocketing them. Rufus spoke up, his voice cutting through the silence as he coldly addressed Reno,

"Are you finished?"

Reno looked up darkly, considering before answering,

"...sure, we'll go with that."

"Good. I won't have what's left of my 'Elite' too busy wallowing in self pity to do their jobs. The situation is too delicate."

Reno looked up bitterly,

"Yeah, so why isn't it destroyed?"

Rufus had never had much patience for Reno, but felt if he explained perhaps the red head would understand for once.

"The head could be a great advantage..."

Reno was quite suddenly on his feet. Rude started to move between his partner and Rufus instinctually before he realized Reno was staying a few feet away. Rude stopped at Rufus's side, but did not relax.

"Hey, Tseng and Elena _died_ getting that thing away from those motherfuckers! If we can burn it or whatever we should! Anything to keep it from getting back to them."

Rufus spoke sharply as if to a disobedient pet,

"You don't make decisions, Reno."

Reno froze briefly as if the reply had struck a nerve. He thought carefully before finally answering, and spoke slowly,

"Of course...sir."

He started to walk outside, then something occurred to him and he looked back,

"...you still won't tell us where it is either, will you, sir?"

Rufus looked up from under the cloth covering his bandaged face with ill concealed annoyance,

"You have your orders, details don't concern you."

Hand on the door-frame, Reno nodded,

"Right, right..."

Before he stepped out onto the porch something occurred to him, and a smile devoid of any joy twisted his face. He turned to fully face the President, his arms out in a gesture of showmanship.

"Hey...happy promotion to me...again."

The sick smile vanished, and Reno stepped backward outside to be alone. The door slammed, and Rude's continued silence was now matched by Rufus.

-----

----

The next few days fell into a weary routine. Loz and Yazoo continued the torture sessions but with fewer questions. Now when they bothered asking, they demanded to know who Rufus had given their Mother to, and as before neither of the Turks gave any reply. Tseng was distracted by his worry for what was left of Shinra, more concerned with what Kadaj was doing to the President then with a few more bruises. He would have to trust Reno and Rude, hoping that they would fair better than he had. Elena held herself together, and even Loz's realization that the Dual Hound was a more effective torture device then his fists could get no more then a few yells out of either of the Turks.

It was when they began taking them away separately that things got worse. It was Loz who usually took Tseng, and while the beatings were painful he was in no danger of revealing anything. It seemed like they both knew that by now, and Loz would work in silence for the most part until he grew bored. But the first time Yazoo took Elena away Tseng felt real fear for the first time.

As soon as they were gone Tseng could only feel that same panic and terrible worry as to what they could be doing to her. He tried to block out the images of Yazoo holding her in the Crater, of the blatant threats he had made, but the longer his solitude dragged on the more he dwelt on them. He agonized over it, wondering when they would return her and what sort of shape she would be in. What he could do if anything, things he should have done, he should have fought harder, he shouldn't have let them take her.

Tseng slammed his head against the side of the cell in frustration, he'd never felt so helpless.

------

----

Tseng was lying on the ground, staring upward and, though exhausted, wide awake. It seemed to be eternally night here, all they had ever seen through the hole that was the ceiling were the faint stars and glimmering trees. It just made the whole situation more surreal. He didn't hear the door this time, but he heard the hateful voice speaking from around the corner,

"Come on...move."

Yazoo dragged Elena into the room and threw her forward. Tseng started to rise as Elena skidded roughly in the dirt and did not move. The silver haired man disappeared with a derisive, 'Hmf', leaving the Turks to their own devices. Tseng moved toward her, trying to stay calm and rational even now. She looked no different from the aftermath of any other torture session they had been through, her clothes were still on, but there was a terrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. It grew worse as Elena moved slightly but stayed lying in the dirt.

"Elena?"

He said carefully, his voice sounding weak in his own ears. Sluggishly, obviously in pain, Elena finally sat up, her head hanging forward. She shook, and although he heard nothing Tseng realized she was crying. He shuffled next to her, wishing his arms weren't bound. She practically fell into him, and her shaking was now accompanied by the sounds of crying. Tseng felt faint wetness in his eyes as well and knew that was as much grief as he was capable of showing anymore, he had long ago forgotten how to cry. He laid his head on hers and murmured into her hair, wishing he could sound more comforting and feeling like the gesture was pathetically inadequate,

"I'm sorry."

Elena made no show of wether she had heard him or not, but buried her head further into his chest. Tseng made no move, but let her quietly weep. Seeing her like this, Tseng felt a growing hatred for the brothers coming through his worry. Rather quickly, all things considered, Elena reigned in her grief and only a slight trembling was left. She drew in a shuddering breath, and in a voice weary of the last few days of misery asked,

"How much longer, Tseng? I can't..."

"Not too long."

He said quickly, meaning every word. Elena stayed pressed against his chest, now quiet, and Tseng felt an overwhelming need to murder Yazoo. He had killed many people in his lifetime, more than he could possibly remember, but it was rare that he felt an emotional need to do so. His normal facade of calm very rarely slipped, but the temper the lay beneath it was fed by a sadistic streak that could have taught Yazoo a few things. And he wanted to, he could show that miserable little boy what torture was supposed to be if given half a chance. Tseng might not have been very good at comfort, but revenge was something he was quite familiar with, and it had never been so necessary in his eyes. It was a shame, he thought as Elena pressed closer against him, that the chances of attaining that revenge were so slim.

------

------

Cold water ran down pale skin, a hint of red sliding along with it to dissipate in the lake. Leaning over, Yazoo splashed his face and wiped at his skin. He was waist deep in the small lake, washing Elena's blood from his body. The water below him slowly settled and he took in his reflection with a bemused smile. There was even a bit in his hair, how the hell had that happened? Shaking his head he dove under the surface and hung there, letting the water wash away proof of his deeds.

He stayed suspended in the chill lake until his breath ran out, then surfaced with a sudden gasp, his hair slick and sticking to his skin. He wiped at his eyes and walked back to shore, retrieving a towel and wiping himself down. Wrapping the towel about his waist he walked up a hill into one of the many shell like structures to dress himself.

Loz looked up as Yazoo came into their makeshift home and said calmly,

"Your phone keeps ringing."

Yazoo shot him an irritated glance as he jumped over rocks toward the pile of his clothes and frantically dug for the faint ringing,

"Why didn't you answer it?"

He snapped as he grabbed the device and flipped it open. Loz simply shrugged like the idea hadn't occurred to him and went back to whatever he had been doing before. Shaking his head at his brother's behavior, Yazoo answered,

"Hello?"

Loz instantly appeared at Yazoo's shoulder, saying loudly,

"Kadaj?"

Yazoo moved the phone to his other ear, but Loz moved with it, listening in on the conversation eagerly. Yazoo ignored him for the moment.

"Took you long enough."

Kadaj's pleased voice came through, a gentle prod in his voice. Yazoo smiled faintly,

"I was busy."

"Oh, and how are our guests?"

Yazoo answered casually,

"The man is still holding one, just barely..."

Loz cut in,

"I got him screaming pretty good last time, but he still won't talk to me."

Yazoo started to tell him to go away but Kadaj's voice stopped him,

"Good job, Loz, keep it up."

Loz stuck his tongue out at Yazoo, who continued like he hadn't seen,

"I don't think the woman can take much more." He wasn't very interested in talking about their prisoners anymore, and asked, "What did Rufus say?"

"That his men dropped Mother when they fled."

"He's lying, last time he said Cloud had her."

Kadaj didn't seem disturbed by any of this, and said almost dismissively,

"Of course. But he probably does know where she is, he must have given her to someone else. He's not stupid enough to still have her, right?"

Yazoo thought about it, Loz craning his neck over his smaller brother to speak into the phone,

"I don't think he would be."

Impatiently, Yazoo spoke up,

"Then we're wasting our time on his lackies." He could hear his Mother pulling at the edge of his mind and he wanted nothing more than to be reunited with her. He was tired of delays, "We should just kill them and concentrate on Cloud."

There was silence as Kadaj considered. He knew Yazoo was right. If Rufus had really given their mother away then anything the two Turks knew was probably useless at this point. He was inclined to agree, had opened his mouth to give the ok even, but something held him back. Neither had told him anything yet, all he had gotten was silence despite how hard he and his brother's had tried. It upset him to think that if he killed them without breaking their silence they had somehow won. It seemed crazy in his mind, but he felt like he had to break them in order to prove something to himself.

Kadaj knew it was foolish to continue the interrogation but he felt like he needed to. He needed to break Tseng, he needed to see the Turk yield. It wasn't about the information anymore, that he would get from Cloud, this was a matter of pride. About proving he was better than those humans. None of his frustrations coming through he phone, he finally answered his brothers,

"Not yet, Yazoo. They could still know something. Even if they don't know exactly where, maybe they know who Rufus would trust enough to give Mother to."

Yazoo was visibly distressed by the response, and Loz furrowed his brow as he tried to figure out why. They were having enough fun with the Turks, he didn't mind a few more days.

"Yazoo? Loz?"

"We heard you, bro."

Loz said quickly, Yazoo coming in slowly after,

"Come home soon."

-----

-----

When Yazoo came returned to their captives, he had the sense to bring Loz with him, and by the time Tseng had recovered from a brutal strike to the head all three were gone. Loz came back for him before Elena was returned, and when the thug was through Tseng passed out the moment he hit the ground. Elena was lying nearby when he came to, but she was sleeping and he was loathe to deny her the brief reprieve.

From then on they spoke very little. Elena would curl up against him when they returned her, seeking comfort without words. A few times they talked, but conversations became increasingly brief as there seemed less and less to talk about. Elena's condition worsened, and she spent her time on the ground in misery. Tseng could only watch as she deteriorated into feverish delirium, the oozing wound on her face slowly claiming her life.

As for himself, his own wounds also grew worse. Their captors did not bother healing them a second time, and by now they were both starving on top of everything else. Tseng thought about it and realized it hadn't been that long since they had been taken. A week at the very most. It felt so much longer. Against the inhuman trio, the Turk leader had never felt so weak. The same situation against three normal people would have been nothing to him, he could have escaped with Elena within the first forty eight hours, killing everyone on the way. Instead he lay on the ground unable to do anything other than wait for one of the brothers to decide it was over.

Still, the fragment of a thought surfaced along with bittersweet pride, the mission had been a success, and it would stay that way.

------

-----

Not too much more, Tseng and Elena couldn't take it if there was. The next chapter was completely redone recently, and I like it much better, but it's going to take a bit to finish up. I also enjoy the SHM's interaction, I think I should write more with them another time, to get their quirky relationships a bit more focus.

Umm...I'm not so sure if I went too far with Elena...but if it didn't go like that then things would have gotten way too repetitive. How many different ways can you write about someone getting punched in the face?

Reno's having a bad day too apparently, and Rude just watches a lot. He got gipped.

Also, that last section pisses me off. Too much angst, but normal human vs Sephiroth remnants lose. I guess I wanted it to get really bad before the next chapter, wherein torture ends. Finally. If anyone is interested, this story is going to be seven chapters I believe, that's what I have blocked out anyway, and it looks like a good ending. So this is half-wayish. Cool!

Thanks for reading, as always!


	5. Announcement

I have to make an announcement and give you, the readers, a few links right now.

First off, this fanfiction is on hiatus, but the story is not. I've realized that I am _much _better at drawing than I am at writing, so this will be continued as a doujinshi/graphic novel. As a bonus, while this fanfiction was going to be about 7 chapters, the doujinshi will be 11 or 12, as I will be adding plenty of goodies, like flashbacks to when Elena joined the Turks, some in-game incidents that are relevant, and the Temple of the Ancients Tseng/Elena bit.

The comic is being hosted on two websites, Deviantart and SmackJeeves. Deviantart will probably get more extras because of the scraps bin and such, but you're free to check either or.

There's only three pages up now, and I drew them awhile back, before I had any intention of doing this seriously, the newer pages as you can see the teasers on deviantart, look SOOOO much better.

So, I'm glad everyone has enjoyed this story so far, now I hope you can enjoy it again in a different form.

Also, as a courtesy to me, I ask that you don't link to this fanfiction on the comic sites for a few reasons. One of them being my brother is reading the comic and I don't want him reading the fanfiction, I don't like how I write, and the other is I'm considering the comic the 'official' version of the story now so I'd rather people read it instead. I'm serious about this, if people start throwing links around I might take the fanfiction down. Thank you.

Here are the links, just take the spaces out to make them work, fanfiction. net has always been weird about posting we addresses.

http:// casualties-of-war. deviantart. com

http:// casualties. smackjeeves. com/


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